OXS Thunder Lite PC Gaming Soundbar, Sound Bars for TV with Virtual Surround Sound, 2 Full-Range Drivers, Bass Tube, Compact Design, HDMI/AUX/Optical Compatible, Bluetooth 5.0 Wireless Connection

Ordered this after having to get a new TV that was incompatible with my old soundbar, and which had terrible internal speakers. Unfortunately the first unit that arrived was dead on arrival. The return was very easy and I was shipped a new unit. The new unit works exactly as I had hoped, and required no set up beyond connecting the power and connecting the HDMI to the TV set. The TV immediately identified it and routed sound to the new soundbar, and the TV remote still works to control volume.

So I worked in HiFi Audio Video for many years and used and purchased some really nice equipment. I'm always on the lookout for new tech. I wasn't familiar with the OXS Company but the form factor and reviews had me decide to try it. Now I got this bar for a TV Sound Upgrade in our travel trailer. Now keep in mind this bar is intended for NEAR FIELD USE. Meaning sitting an arm's length away at a desk or up to say 4 feet away from a smaller tv. Using this on a 65 inch TV sitting 8 to 12 feet away is gonna be a disappointment. While it gets plenty loud and does give 100% better sound quality over stock TV speakers.. It loses fidelity, punch and detail when that far away.The company states this has a frequency range that can get down to 60hz which had me believe it would have more punch than say a JBL Charge Bluetooth Speaker. I performed a frequency sweep on the unit and while YES it can get down to 60hz, and the tone was audible, it lacks the push behind that freq. It wasn't until about 80hz where the tone was audible across the room and was on par volume wise with other frequencies in its spectrum.Now as far as I can tell there is no digital decoders in this unit like Atmos or DTS X etc. But the unit does sound the best going thru HDMI ARC on the TV. Using the optical cable also works great but be sure to set the TV output to PCM otherwise it will cause a delay and cut out audibly. When testing in PC I used the USB input and no issues there. Amplified my laptop and sounded great being only placed 1.5 feet away from me. This is where this thing shines! Being so close to the unit you only need 40% volume and details are crisp. Using the "X-MOde" button adds treble and upper mid freqs to help with gaming. Giving footsteps and reloads a slight bump in volume to help to determine where enemies are. I found this mode a little too bright sounding for my taste but understand what the company was trying to achieve. This mode is useless for movies and music as the bump in treble is kinda harsh sounding.So in conclusion, Is The OXS Worth It????YES and NO. At the asking price point of $149.99 I'd say No Way. There are many other options out there that exceed this at that cost or perform just as good for way less. I paid $99 on sale and even at that price I'd say it's a maybe. Vizio 2channel bars go for roughly $80 at Wal-Mart and perform just as well and have the latest decoders. This bar shines with its many inputs. Optical, HDMI, USB and 3.5. So it is more universal. If this bar was sold at $79.99 normally and with occasional sales of say $69.99 then you would have a great competitive option on the market. I have said this in the past... There are no bad products, only bad pricing.

Is it loud? Yes. Is it clear? Yes. Does it fit on the shelf with the television? Yes. Can it be positioned in the room for great bass response without annoying the neighbors? Yes. Angle it. Does it turn on and off with the television automatically if you use the HDMI cable? Yes. At just around $100 it's the perfect upgrade to your sound quality that you won't regret.

I bought this for a raspberry pi used as a media center. I couldn't get the HDMI to work (probably the fault of the pi) and haven't tested the optical or USB inputs, but sound on the 3.5 phono port and Bluetooth is crisp. Misses the low bass, which i expected, and the auto shutoff on no input can be annoying, but otherwise I am very pleased with this purchase.

Weak sound. Cheap price.

Update: This is still worthless as a regular speaker solution for PC using USB-C because it keeps powering off and requires both powering up and manually switching through multiple modes to get back into USB mode. I even updated the BIOS on the website recently, it did not fix this issue. I do not recommend buying this.I recommend the $50 Creative Stage SE instead.There are two issues I have with this using the USB-C cable into my Windows 11 PC. First, it goes into power-down mode and stops working until you power it back up. Secondly, in low-power mode it keeps connecting and disconnecting, so if you're using another speaker (like headphones) Windows keeps recognizing the device and it keeps making USB connection noises over and over constantly.Manufacturer - please provide an update that keeps the speakers powered on constantly when plugged into to USB!